FIC: The Twilight War (Chapter Five: Revelations in the Night)

["Cilia" <cilia@xxxxx>]

The Twilight War

Cilia



Chapter Five: Revelations in the Night



The army was camped on the deep forest and the entrance into the nether laid
just a day?s journey to the south. They?d marched from dawn to dusk, only
resting because their horses couldn?t carry them through the autumn night.
So the line halted and camps were set up, fires burned all along the mile
long stretch of road that the army was camped around. And high above them,
perched upon treetops, so narrow that they shouldn?t be able to carry even
the slimmest elfin child the watchers stood. Cordelia Moondancer appeared as
a gleaming beacon of light in the darkness, her cape blowing in the wind and
every so often the tree itself swayed and it was revealed that she was not
in fact standing on it, merely using it to keep stable as she hovered high
above the ground. Not far from where the Ranger Knight kept her vigil stood
Theris, the High Elf stripped down to only her short skirt and chainmail
shirt.



Cordelia was princess?s Stjar?a?s legal cohort, meaning that she was awarded
all the privileges of the wife, but it kept the possibility, slim as it
might, for Stjar?a to take a husband. After all Stjar?a was the first in
line for accession to the throne and a heir was expected someday, but since
elves have great lifespan of hundreds even thousands of years, the issue was
of no imitate concern and the royal houses also knew the Cordelia was a
human, powerful as she might be, so one day she would be gone. Cordelia was
also a Ranger and as thus in tune with nature and all things in general and
she had noticed something about her old mentor over the course of the march,
something that she hadn?t expected from the High Elf.

?How?s Angel holding up?? she asked the High Elf, they were not
that far apart and both had hearing surpassing most.

?Uhh?? was Theris? reply as Cordelia snapped her out of an
obvious reviver.

?I said: How?s Angel?? she asked. ?Still attached to Litni
alright?? she added with a grin.

?Liam is fine,? Theris replied. ?We?ll probably meet him soon,?
she added off handedly.

?Are you going to ask Ziel to restore him to you?? Cordelia
asked innocently. Ziel had been instrumental in binding Theris with her
guardian spirit and though Theris had given him up to Litni willingly, the
process of rebinding was a complex one.
?I? don?t know,? Theris said honestly.

?Hesitance does not become you Theris,? Cordelia said. ?I?ve
known you for a short time in elf terms, but in that time I?ve never seen
you give pause,? she added.

?Things are changing,? Theris said calmly. ?Also Guardians can?t
afford be hesitant, but I?m no longer of the council,? she explained.

?Then why the sudden interest in Ziel?? Cordelia asked with a
raised eyebrow. ?You?ve ridden next to her for most of the way,? she
explained.

?I trained you a bit too well,? Theris said with a small smile.
?Can I just tell you that I have my own reasons and ask of you to leave this
matter be?? she asked. ?For the time being,? she added.

?Well?? Cordelia said with a pout. ?Alright,? she said with a
smile and reached for her water bottle that hung from her belt.

?Now, have you found a candidate for your little project??
Theris asked with a smirk, causing Cordelia to spew out the water she?d just
gulped and giving the High Elf a wide-eyed looked.

?How? why? you?? she started.

?I trained you after all, but this ?old? elf still has some
tricks to call her own,? Theris said with a wink.

?Well,? Cordelia said and flew over to where Theris floated. ?We
?ve narrowed the list down,? she said with a smile. ?But we?re still trying
to decide who?s going to? well you know,? she said.

?Close her eyes and think of Necris,? Theris said with a giggle.
Very out of character Cordelia noted but let it pass.

?That?s one way of putting it, but we were thinking about asking
either Tark or Al?x, I know Joyce won?t mind, but Tark seems to be out of
the picture at least until I get a feel for Tare,? she explained.

?Why Al?x, wouldn?t it be better if the child is an elf,? Theris
said. ?For political purposes,? she added off hand.

?Well Al?x, is an old fling of mine,? Cordelia explained with a
blush. ?And if it is a half elf, well then it would be more believable, now
wouldn?t it??

?The myth of a magically conceived heir to the throne,? Theris
said. ?Sounds nice,? she added.

?I thought so too,? Cordelia said. ?And I really want it to be
at least in some part connected to me and my race. Is that wrong?? she
asked.

?No,? Theris said. ?You want to have a child to call your own
and I?m sure you?d love it equally be it elf or half-elf,? Theris said.
?What about Grimm?? she then said.

?Like ewww?? Cordelia said and stuck out her tongue. ?That?s
just? ewww.?

?Well it?s not unheard of that women of the same house share a
male that is likely to produce strong offspring,? Theris explained. ?But I
concur, that it is a bit? eww,? she said in another out-of-character display
and now Cordelia couldn?t help but to comment.

?You feeling alright Theris?? she asked. ?You seem a little,
girlish,? she explained at the High Elf?s puzzled look.

?Just enjoying being alive Cordelia,? Theris said. ?After
thinking about it I?ve come to realize that? I?ve in a way been freed,? she
explained. ?The weight of protecting the world is gone,? she added.

?So now you just watch out for Ziel?s back,? Cordelia said with
a grin and hovered away quickly to avoid the retort with singing laughter
erupting from her lips. Theris just shook her head and turned her eyes back
to the horizon. Perhaps she would watch out for the young half-elf.
Considering they had traveled together with Al?x Sun, she now realized she
knew little about the enigmatic half-elf that of course in true Ranger
fashion would have to be corrected and balanced.



* * * * *



Elisabeth stood at the edge of the forest where the road parted it, behind
her she could hear the clatter of cooking pots and the snores of her army,
her ears shifted through the various sounds coming from the mile long
encampment. She did this to get a feel for her army, their morale and their
fighting spirit, also it often yielded some of the more juicer gossip, but
she would never admit to that. Snatches of conversations drifted to her
ears. Some of it just camp talk, war stories, women or men, this was after
all a drow army thus she could shift through at least ten plots being
hatched. The dwarves talked about their craft and shared stories of mining
and fighting goblins underneath the mountains. Then her ears picked up on a
conversation high above her, something about romance and a childbirth then
it faded away from her range. She heard the approach before it happened
though, the last time she?d lead a drow army, she?d been challenged on her
first night out, but the light footsteps belonged to an old friend.

?My Queen,? she greeted as Queen Piratess of the Drow stepped up
next to her. The Queen wore a heavy cloak with a deep hood that obscured her
figure.

?My General,? Piratess nodded back.

?Are things to your satisfaction?? Elisabeth asked.

?Very,? Piratess answered.

?Great now that that is over, how are things Tessa?? Elisabeth
asked with a grin. The General and the Queen had been friends ever since the
first march out of Necris ten years prior, but both clung to some
resemblance of formality, for formalities sake, but it was more of a
personal joke.

?Grimm wasn?t happy about being left behind in Larken,? Piratess
said, referring to her paramour who was a young human thief that had been
Elisabeth's companion ten years prior.

?He is an ambassador to the Alliance,? Elisabeth stated. ?If
Willow said she needed him? well we don?t argue with the master mage now do
we,? she shrugged.

?No we don?t,? Piratess nodded. ?Still it would make the nights
on the road? warmer,? she said with a hidden grin.

?True, I wouldn?t mind having Willow along,? Elisabeth said with
a soulful expression.

?Instead you are stuck with the wild mage,? Piratess said with a
grin.

?Oh no, uh-uh, don?t even go there Tessa,? Elisabeth said. ?I
did the cheating thing once and I?m not falling into that trap again,? she
said.

?Well, you are on the march, but then again you are not drow,?
Piratess said.

?Thank god for small miracles, no offense,? Elisabeth said with
a laugh.

?None taken, but for the record you?d make an excellent drow,
once we rid you of that sense of honor,? Piratess said deadpan.

?Gee thanks,? Elisabeth said. ?Remember that it was my sense of
honor that brought me into this mess to begin with,? she reminded the Queen.

?I for one am glad,? a gruff voice said and both women spun
around to see King Einar standing behind them. Sensing their surprise, the
dwarven King grinned and pointed to his boots that made no sounds
whatsoever.

?The magic of dwarven craft,? Piratess commented. ?What brings
you away from the meat King Einar?? she asked.

?Ah don?t be such a sourpuss Tessy,? the King said as she
stepped between them. ?I wanted to talk yer general here, but since you are
here it?s even better,? he said.

?What is it?? Elisabeth asked.
?Well the lads came to me with a plan,? he said. ?To slow the
enemy down,? he went on with a grin as the women?s eyes went wide and then
they all laughed, yes the Shadow would be surprised to say the least.

* * * * *

Ziel sat in her tent, she was a half-elf, thus her sleep wasn?t like a
human's, nor was it like the trances of the elves. Her mind entered a
dream-like state like that of the elves while her body relaxed and slept,
but a part of her always remained alert. It was this part that sensed her
tent mate?s return. She was used to sharing tents, had done so during her
travels with Al?x Sun, but something was odd about her tent mate. Theris
didn?t usually return until dawn, but she knew it was still night outside
and dawn was far away.

?Yer early,? she said in her dwarfish accented. Theris smiled
she?d never quite noticed how Ziel?s elfin and melodic voice sounded talking
in the rough and often blunt way of the dwarves.

?Nothing to see,? Theris said. ?All our enemies are far from
this place,? she added.

?They won?t come over land anyways,? Ziel said, she stretched as
her body caught up with her mind.

?A message from above?? Theris asked with a gentle smile as she
studied the young half-elf. Her steel grey and raven dark hair, short
pointed ears and features there were a pleasant mix of both human and elfin.

?Experience,? Ziel said. ?But you would probably know better,?
she added with a smirk.

?I?m not that old,? Theris stated with wide eyes.

?Older than rock, if the gossip is true,? Ziel said with a grin,
teasing the High Elf had always been something she'd not approved of, but
now, well things and people change.

?Coming from a youngster of barely thirty odd years, true,? she
said as she playfully ruffled Ziel hair and found herself admiring its silky
softness.

?Theris?? Ziel asked in a concerned voice as the High Elf?s
eyes became distant and cloudy for a moment.

?I?m sorry my friend,? Theris said. ?I think I will retire now,?
she said and moved away from Ziel.

Ziel watched as Theris pulled the chainmail shirt over her head and
discarded it on the tent?s floor, and then came the thin sandals, leaving
her only in the skirt and the high collared shirt she wore underneath the
chainmail. She wanted to look away as the High Elf pulled the shirt off and
folded it together. Underneath Theris only wore a thin linen undershirt and
Ziel blushed despite herself. Then mentally slapping herself for thinking
like this, this was Theris, her friend and this was not the first time she?d
seen her like this, but something about this night, this moment, made it all
different.

?Good night Ziel,? Theris said as she crawled into her bedroll,
closed her eyes and almost immediately slipped into the dream like trance
that served elves as their sleep. Ziel sat in her roll for a few moments and
watched Theris? chest rise and fall, then something in her, she couldn?t
really put her finger on it, but she made her way slowly over to the prone
High Elf and studied her face in the gloom. Theris was truly beautiful, an
ageless form of beauty that was almost ethereal. Ziel?s eyes traveled over
Theris? face and then down to her rising and falling chest. She reached out
her hand and gently placed it on Theris? chest, feeling it rise and fall
under it and then something pressing into her palm. Pulling her hand away,
she kissed Theris on the lips and returned to her own bedroll. Hoping that
when she woke up this had just been a dream. Theris murmured something and
licked her lips.



To be continued...

In the next chapter of Cilia's Twilight War: Litni travels with Angel and
her companions through the ethereal planes in a bit to reach Necris in time,
as Buffy returns to the city were she almost lost everything ten years ago.
Be here in seven days time when Cilia's The Twilight War continues.